Cooked low and slow over smoke and then wrapped with butter and honey, these smoked baby back ribs are packed full of flavor.
Few things are more satisfying than getting stuck into a rack of ribs with your bare hands and biting into that sweet barbecue pork.
These smoked baby back ribs combine elements from various regional U.S. styles, with the sweet dry rub particularly common in Memphis BBQ. I’ve used a foil wrap towards the end, which some people prefer to skip but I find it helps break down the thick meat between the bones in baby backs and gives us an added opportunity to work in a bit more flavor with the honey and butter.
From the upper part of the pig’s rib cage towards the backbone and loin, the rib rack is smaller and leaner than that of spare ribs. But don’t let that put you off: baby backs are really underrated. They’re still beautifully marbled and tender, and are much easier and more forgiving to cook than other types of pork rib.
When picking your baby back ribs, plan for about 1-2 servings per rack, with about 1 pound of ribs being enough for one serving. Try to pick racks that look meaty and avoid ‘shiners’, where the top of the bones are exposed from being trimmed too much.
How to Smoke Baby Back Ribs
- Prep: Trim any excess surface fat from the rib rack and use a dry paper towel to peel off the membrane from the underside of the rack.
- Season: Apply a thin coat of yellow mustard to the ribs to act as a binder. Then combine the rub ingredients and season the ribs, covering all sides. Let the rack sit at room temperature while you fire up your smoker.
- Smoke: Fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C) with seasoned oak and clean, thin blue smoke. If using a kettle, use the snake method, vents wide open, and add only 1–2 wood chunks at a time. Place ribs on and smoke for about 3 hours.
- Spritz: After the first hour, spritz lightly with 50:50 apple cider vinegar and water, then every 30–40 minutes to deepen the color without washing off any rub.
- Wrap: On the three-hour mark, double-wrap tightly in foil with a few dots of butter and a drizzle of honey. Return to the smoker for about an hour to tenderize and lock in flavor.
- Toothpick: Check the ribs for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the meat part of the rack between the bones. It should slide in with little resistance, and a gentle tong lift should show a slight bend with a small split in the bark.
- Sauce: Brush the top of the rack with a BBQ sauce, and cook for 5-10 more minutes to let the sauce set (don’t let it burn!)
- Serve: Pull the ribs from the smoker, rest for 10 minutes, and slice between the bones to serve.
Quick Tips
- Remove the Membrane: Not everyone does it, but I recommend removing the membrane (also known as silverskin) from the bone side of the ribs as part of your meat prep. The membrane can turn rubbery when cooked, and can stop the smoke from getting into that side of the rib rack. Since it doesn’t offer much benefit, I just ditch it.
- Use a Water Pan: Keeping the cooking chamber humid is key to stopping meat going dry, particularly with lean baby back ribs, so I recommend using a water pan during the smoke. Fill a disposable aluminum tray with some ice cubes and cold water, and place it either on the grates alongside the ribs, or directly underneath them.
- The Bend Test: I have given a target internal temperature in the recipe as a guide, but the bones in the ribs can make this a little more challenging, so as a backup, check the doneness of the ribs by picking them up in the middle of the rack with tongs. If they bend easily with a little bit of crack coming in on the surface, they’re good to go.
More Smoked Pork Ribs Recipes
Why stop at baby backs? Try some of our other smoked pork rib recipes:
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks of baby back ribs
- 4 tbsp yellow mustard
- ½ stick of butter
- 4 tsp honey
- 2 cups BBQ sauce
Rub
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp mustard powder
Spritz
- ½ cup apple juice
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C)
- Trim the ribs to remove any excess fat or meat, and remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs
- Apply a thin layer of yellow mustard to the ribs, covering evenly on all sides
- In a small bowl, combine the dry rub ingredients. Then, sprinkle the rub over the ribs, covering liberally and evenly across all sides of the rib racks.
- Once your smoker is at target temperature, place the ribs on the smoker grates. Smoke for 3 hours.
- After the first hour of cooking, add the apple cider vinegar and apple juice to a food-safe spray bottle, and spritz the ribs every 30-40 minutes.
- Place the ribs in a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, dot with butter and drizzle with honey. Wrap tightly (I prefer to double-wrap) and place back in the smoker for a further 1-1½ hours, or until the ribs are tender and an internal thermometer reads 180°F (82°C).
- Open the foil and brush with BBQ sauce on top. Loosely recover the ribs and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice the ribs to serve by turning them over so they’re bone-side up. Using the bones as a guide, cut between the bones to serve the baby backs as individual ribs. Enjoy right away.
